Crane’s purchase of Astros may hinge on move to AL

Another wild card in the attempted sale of the Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane could be … another wild card.

Two outlets reported Wednesday that Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s desire to add another wild-card playoff team to both leagues could be a tipping point in the sale of the team to Crane. An Astros move from the National League to the American League would put 15 teams in both leagues, which would lay the foundation to increase the number of playoff teams from eight teams to 10.

One major league official is skeptical of a league change being a holdup for the $680 million sale, saying, “I never felt that that was what the major stumbling block was about approval. That’s not such a difficult thing that needs to be shrouded in secrecy.”

Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday that Crane has softened on the notion of signing off on a move to the AL West under a realignment plan that would create two 15-team leagues and increase the number of playoff teams from eight to 10. KRIV in Houston, meanwhile, reports that Selig has asked Crane to agree to move the Astros to the American League if approved as owner. According to that report, Crane’s resistance to a move has kept him from receiving approval to take over the team from McLane.

MLB pulled the sale approval from the agenda just days before the owners’ meetings in August, citing the need for more time to complete the vetting of all the investors. Last week an official familiar with the process said MLB was investigating charges that Crane engaged in war profiteering and unfair hiring practices of blacks and women.

“I know people are saying (the sale hinges on the Astros changing leagues), but why wouldn’t they have come out and said that, `One of the conditions is we want the team to move the American League?’” the MLB official said. “That doesn’t have to be a big secret. Why come up with all the other things? Why drag somebody through that if those weren’t the issues?”

The notion that the Astros accepting a move to the AL having a bearing on the sale is variation on a theme that arose in July – one that McLane summarily dismissed. McLane, who wasn’t available for comment Wednesday, said then, “That has not been discussed by the commissioner to myself or anyone else with the Astros. That has never been part of the discussion whatsoever.”